


Death of Time

by fineinthemorning, kyuubikun



Series: Bouquet of Our Broken Notes [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Kindred Spirits, M/M, Spirit World, Spirits, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 04:57:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16152059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fineinthemorning/pseuds/fineinthemorning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyuubikun/pseuds/kyuubikun
Summary: While investigating a series of missing persons reports, Akechi finds himself at risk of being spirited away himself.





	Death of Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaborative piece born of kyuubikun's beautiful ramblings. It has been written as part of an October challenge we're doing, and it meets the prompt "--oh shit wait I can't say because then it spoils the story well shit nevermind.  
> Anyway, feedback appreciated. Please enjoy.  
> Ps. I only have a day to work on each of these, so forgive the brevity of these pieces.  
>  ~~Also, my[single song soundtrack](https://youtu.be/yY5alaPlA3U) while writing this for those who care.~~

“Damn it. Fuck.” Goro tossed his phone into the soft earth by his feet. Nature filled his vision in every direction, and, from where he was sitting, he scanned the water surrounded by dense forest of momiji and cedar. A yellow moon cast light on the many lotus paddies that outlined the perimeter of the perfectly circular pond that held, at its center, a small island of white lotus and a single, twisted tree that reached wider and higher than any others. In the moonlight, the white petals glowed like candle flames sprouting from the black surface of the water beneath them.

He stood up too quickly and immediately regretted the cool air on his backside; he'd been sitting in mud apparently. Defeated, he sat back down, took a deep breath, and released it slowly: a method he'd used to calm himself since he'd been a child-- all self-control and suppression. He'd lost his cellphone signal after following after a voice he'd heard in the woods. Ignoring the many painted white signs that read "Do not stray from the path!", he had done just that to investigate what he was hoping was a lead for the case he'd followed outside of Tokyo's city limits and all the way to Mt. Takao.

His recklessness had lead him here, and now, he was lost, and quite nearly convinced he'd either found himself in a dream or an illusion. No bodies of water were marked on the map for the mountainside. Was there even an area so wide in which water could gather? Looking out at the reflection of the moon without really seeing it, he reached up to his forehead to feel for any injuries or lumps.

The locals believed that, for the most part, these woods were lucky. Takao-san was often hailed as a romantic climb for couples, even. A lucky, happy marriage awaited those who climbed to the top, hand in hand. How far from the truth could people be? Goro never regarded himself as superstitious, but he hadn't expected something like this. It would be more accurate to call the mountain cursed at this point.

"Are you well?"

Goro blinked, convinced that the figure in the pond before him hadn't been there a second prior. "I'm fine . . ." He moved his left hand down slowly from his head to hover it over the concealed handgun holstered at his side. He'd hardly ever used it as his work as a detective rarely required it, but this case had been wild enough for him to take more precautions than he had previously; it wasn't often that he was trusted with missing persons or, presumably, a murder case. "More importantly, what are you doing there? In the water?" In the dim light, Akechi's eyes squinted to make out the man before him only a few meters away in the pond with water up to his shoulders.

"You've found yourself in a beautiful place, haven't you?" the man's eyes were ashen embers in the dark shadows that played across his face. Wet, black hair framed the pale skin of his face, and, as he drew closer, it became evident that they were not so different in age.

Akechi's left hand didn't leave his side as he moved to stand up again. Even with the man at a disadvantage in the water, Akechi couldn't help but feel vulnerable in his presence. There was something about him that was off, but Akechi couldn't yet name what it was. "Well, yes, but, why don't you come out of there?" Akechi walked cautiously to the water's edge and reached his right hand down to help the other climb out of the pond as though it were his civic duty to help the man.

The other's gray eyes followed his hand all the way up the detective's arm to his face, the light above finally casting a glow over his features. He smiled with demure mischief and shook his head slowly, "Why don't you come in?"

"I can't swim," Akechi admitted without thinking, simultaneously withdrawing his hand and, by extension, his offer.

The man smiled wider, his eyes lighting brighter as he tilted his head further up into the moonlight, “That is embarrassing.”

Akechi didn't let his surprise show, but he couldn't stop the blush on his face. He was talking to a man who had decided to go for a swim in a mountainside pond in the middle of the night, and _he_ was the one being teased? “Thanks . . ." he dodged, cleverly. Their eyes met, and Akechi stared, transfixed, at the surreal beauty the other possessed. "I’m Akechi. Goro Akechi-- a detective," he added the last part abruptly as if to remind himself that he was here with a purpose, or rather, on Mt. Takao with a purpose. He no longer had any idea what he was doing here, though. The man in the water was distracting him from his investigation. If anything, he himself, was rather suspicious.

But then, why couldn't Akechi convince himself to leave him be?

"You really shouldn't be out in the woods this late at night, " he said next, trying to break the spell.

The man's smile did not budge.

Patience growing thin, Akechi pressed, “You never introduced yourself?” He looked on, expectant, crossing his arms as he watched the man float weightlessly in the pond.

The man shook his head, letting his gaze fall down Akechi's figure to his feet. The muscles in his face slackened, melting slowly into sadness. He spoke softly, ". . . I can’t quite seem to remember my name."

Goro hadn't expected that answer, but with it, he felt himself genuinely pondering the possibility that the superstitions he so stubbornly dismissed might actually hold some ounce of truth. People who preferred fairy tales and ghost stories to reality often called a string of disappearances a case of people being spirited away. Akechi knew as a detective that, of course, spirits and the supernatural could not be blamed for the madness of men. Still, he had never encountered anything like this-- anything like _him_. He was due to wake up any moment now, surely.

“What should I call you then?” Akechi asked, tone softer than it should be. The man in the water had the markings of someone lost, someone whose mind was not quite there, but Akechi’s instincts told him otherwise. Whatever appeared different about him, it somehow had _nothing_ to do with any sort of lacking sanity.

“I’ve been called a great many things,” the man replied, just as soft, “You could call me--”

“Ren,” Akechi heard himself whisper, his eyes widening slightly. What had made him say that?

“Like the lotus?” the man asked, sounding amused.

“I--” Akechi nearly admitted to having never meant to say anything aloud but thought better of it and lied quickly, “Yes. Since you’re swimming in a lotus pond in the middle of the night on the side of a mountain . . .” The detective’s thoughts derailed as their eyes met again. He felt himself longing to see those eyes up close. “You really should come out of there; you could get sick.” He wasn’t sure when he’d relaxed, but it was then that he’d noticed that his left hand had left his side and was no longer at the ready to draw his gun. He wasn't crossing his arms, either, but was instead leaving himself open and vulnerable to the man in the--Ren. To Ren. Akechi had gone from suspicion to concern so fluidly that he hadn’t noticed just how strong Ren’s spell was over him. Only sorcery could be responsible for his lacking precaution.

“I don’t think so, but . . . thank you."

Akechi didn’t understand the gratitude, and instead of responding to it, he stubbornly prodded, “It’s late, and it will only get colder the later the hour. You should come out, and I’ll walk you home.”

Ren sank further into the water as if to hide from the onslaught of Akechi’s polite encouragement, but he didn’t bother to hide his smile, “No, but thank you.”

Akechi watched as Ren retreated further back into the pond, growing the distance between them, “It has been a long time since someone has shown me such kindness . . .”

Akechi reflected. He _was_ being kind, wasn’t he? No, he was just defaulting to his duty as a detective; he spoke out of reflexes that had been learned to deal with the . . . unexpected and the suffering. Suffering? His own thoughts and actions were out of character. He'd been bewitched.

“The sun will rise soon. You should go. Just turn around and walk straight away from this place.” Ren spoke louder from the center of the pond, and with his words, he carried a warning.

“It’s that late already?" Akechi picked up his phone and pocketed it, "You’re right; I really should be going.” He turned away to leave only to turn back around to gaze upon the figure in the pond, “You should be coming with me.”

“Not yet,” Ren replied with a tone of finality that told Akechi that he'd have to be physically forced out at this point in time.

Akechi stared, saying nothing. _Not yet?_ What could that mean, though? And, why did it sounds so ominous?

“Now, go.”

And so he did, walking straight, one foot in front of the other, just as Ren had said, until he ended up back on the mountain walking path. He took a deep breath and with it, he inhaled the scent of the early morning mountain air. The forest began to wake slowly, birds chirping overhead to signal the dawn of a new day. Sae was right. Even if Takao resulted in a dead end, they still were able to enjoy the nature for the duration of their stay. Time in nature had been scientifically proven to improve one’s health so--

Wait.

Akechi took out his phone and read the time. Why was he on the mountain trail at four in the morning? He looked around, suddenly alert. He couldn’t even recall coming this way this morning. Had he slept here? Akechi felt the mud on his pants and stared at it caked on the skin of his hands and beneath his fingernails. He’d fallen asleep on Mt. Takao?

When his phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts, he answered it immediately, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide how hoarse it had become from dehydration, “Sae? Good morning. . . . Yes, well, I seemed to have fallen asleep here.

The detective pulled the phone away abruptly as Sae went off about being responsible, the importance of the case, and, somehow, setting an example for her little sister who had ended up coming with them for the duration of their stay in Takao. Sae was really reaching here; he didn’t think Makoto, who was only eight, paid any attention to him, but now was neither the time nor place to argue with an angry Niijima. When the phone had gone quiet, Goro put it back to his ear and admitted, “Yes, on Mt. Takao. Yes, I’m fine. Yes, of course. See you soon.” Goro ended the call and pocketed his phone with a sigh.

For a moment, he stood still, fixed to the spot as he tried to recall how he’d ended up doing something so unlike himself. A chill ran through him suddenly, sending goosebumps up the back of his neck, and he turned around to look into the forest. He couldn’t help but feel like something was waiting for him there. Goro shook his head, frowning a little. He’d never been superstitious, and he wasn’t about to start now.

As he made his way back down the mountain, a dull ache blossomed in his chest.

Akechi attributed the pain to his work without question. Seven people had already gone missing; he had to get to the bottom of this.


End file.
